Social Security Warns of ID Theft Scams

Social Security Warns of ID Theft Scams Almost 70 million Americans depend  on Social Security benefits. Sadly, whether you are already receiving benefits or not, your Social Security account is a tempting target for scammers. The sheer complexity of this mainline federal assistance program makes Social Security accounts particularly vulnerable to hacking by cyber attackers. As a result, the Social Security Administration has identified some particularly dangerous scams you should be aware of whether you are already receiving benefits or plan to in the future. Online Social Security Account Scam The Social Security Administration (SSA) strongly urges all current and future beneficiaries to set up a personal â€Å"My Social Security† account on its website. Opening a My Social Security account allows you to check the size of your current or future benefits and change your bank account direct deposit information or mailing address without having to visit your local Social Security office or wait on hold to speak to an agent. The bad news is that scammers also take advantage of many My Social Security accounts. In this bit of awful, scammers set up My Social Security accounts in the names of people who do not already have them, thus allowing them to transfer the victims’ current or future benefits to their own bank accounts or debit cards. While Social Security will reimburse victims of this scam, it can take months and leave you without benefits during that period. How to Prevent It Scammers can only set up a bogus My Social Security account in your name if they already know your Social Security Number and other personal information, which in today’s data-breach-of-the-week environment is all too likely. So, the thing to do is set up your account as soon as possible. Anyone over age 18 can set up a My Social Security account. Even if you do not intend to start drawing benefits for years, a My Social Security account can be a valuable retirement planning tool. When you set up your account, be sure to choose the â€Å"Add Extra Security† option on the online signup form. This option will cause a new security code to be sent to your cell phone or email ever time you try to access your account. You will need to enter the code in order to log on. It is sort of inconvenient, but far better than having your benefits stolen. The Fake Social Security Employee Scams There exists a whole set of scams in which the perpetrator- posing as a Social Security â€Å"agent- calls victims regarding their benefits. For example, the scammer may claim the SSA needs to verify the victim’s direct deposit information. In another more complex scam, the victim is told that their Social Security benefits are being cut because they have inherited a house from a relative; an event that would not result in a reduction of their Social Security benefit. To help perpetrate the fraud, the caller then places the recipient on hold and plays the same on-hold recordings actually used by Social Security. When the scammer comes back on the line, the victim is that told proceeds from the sale of the house will be sent to them if they pay the back taxes. Of course, there are no inherited houses or back taxes. How to Prevent It The SSA recommends taking extreme precautions before giving out personal information. â€Å"You should never provide your Social Security number or other personal information over the telephone unless you initiated the contact, or are confident of the person to whom you are speaking,† says the agency. â€Å"If in doubt, do not release information without first verifying the validity of the call.† Which you can do by calling Social Security’s toll free number at 1-800-772-1213 to verify the legitimacy of the call. (If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call Social Securitys TTY number at 1-800-325-0778.) Also be aware that scammers have also perfected the black cyber crime art of â€Å"caller ID spoofing,† so even if your caller ID says, â€Å"Social Security Administration,† it is probably just another scammer. The Data Theft Scare Scam Given the number of actual government data breaches these days, this scam is particularly believable and dangerous. The scammer – again pretending to work for Social Security – tells the victim that the agency’s computers have been hacked. In order find out if the victims account has been compromised, the scammer says he needs to verify that the SSA has the victim’s correct bank account information. To set the hook, the scammer gives the victim account information he knows is incorrect. In the end, the victim is tricked into giving the scammer their correct bank account information. Bad, very bad. How to Prevent It The SSA recommends ignoring calls and emails regarding account data breaches. The agency never initiates contact with beneficiaries by phone or email.Even letters regarding data breaches can be scams as scammers have gotten very good at making envelopes and letters look â€Å"official.† If you get such a letter call the real Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 to find out if the letter is legitimate. If the letter gives any other number to call, do not call it. The No COLA For You Scam While it hasn’t happened since 2014, Social Security adds a cost of living adjustment (COLA) in most years based on the rate of inflation. But, when there is no increase in the consumer price index (CPI), as was the case in 2015 and 2016, there is no COLA for Social Security recipients. Scammers- again posing as SSA employees- take advantage of these non-COLA years by calling, emailing or sending letters to victims stating that the SSA had apparently â€Å"forgotten† to apply the COLA increase to their accounts. As with other scams, victims are given a form or link to a website where they can â€Å"claim† their COLA increase by providing their Social Security Number and bank account information. By now, you know what happens next. Tell your money goodbye. How to Prevent It Ignore the letters, calls or emails. When and if they are given, Social Security applies COLAs automatically and without fail to the accounts of all current beneficiaries. You never have to â€Å"apply† for them. The New, Improved Social Security Card Scam In this one, the scammer, again posing as an SSA employee, tells the victim that the agency is replacing all old paper Social Security cards with new high tech, â€Å"ID theft proof† computer chips embedded in them. The scammer tells the victim that they will not get any more benefits until they have gotten one of the new cards. The scammer then claims that he can â€Å"expedite† the replacement card if the victim provides their identity and bank account details. Clearly not the smart thing to do. How to Prevent It Ignore the claims. The SSA has no plans, desire or money to replace millions of old Social Security cards or to start issuing high-tech cards. In fact, the SSA recommends you not even carry your Social Security card with you due to the threat of identity theft. Instead, memorize your Social Security number and put the card in a safe, secret place. Report Suspected Scams The SSA’s office of inspector general asks Americans to report known or suspected incidents of scams. Reports can be submitted online at the SSA’s Report Fraud, Waste or Abuse website. Reports can also be submitted by mail to: Social Security Fraud Hotline​P.O. Box 17785Baltimore, Maryland 21235 In addition, reports can be submitted by telephone to 1-800-269-0271 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (TTY: 1-866-501-2101 for the deaf or hard of hearing.)

Classify and categorize various careers in hospitality field Essay

Classify and categorize various careers in hospitality field - Essay Example The current global economy based on integration and free trade is expected to further transform growth in the industry. With rising economic integration through globalization, careers in hospitality have increasingly provided flexibility in the country of operation, especially in chains of hospitality firms which exist in various countries. Chuang has pointed out that following the development of hotel industry, the bar for skilled personnel has gone up substantially (14). The industry arguably experiences the greatest diversity of knowledge assets compared to other professions. Careers in the hospitality industry can be classified into: food and beverage handling, front office management, housekeeping, sales and promotion, accounting, maintenance among others (Ladkin and Weber 385). The current world has witnessed a sharp increase in business activity, resulting to more business and holiday travels, hence more careers in the sector. Eligibility The eligibility for various careers in the hospitality industry ranges from diploma certificates higher learning institutions to university degrees (Chuang 15). Depending on the nature of the organization, Hotel and Restaurant management, Casino management, Cruise Ship Hotel Management, Airline Catering and Cabin Services, Administration and catering for health facilities and education or training institutions, Hotel and Tourism, Lodges, and Guest Houses are some of the avenues that can be exploited by those keen on pursuing a career in the hospitality industry. Trained persons may also open businesses for self-employment in order to realize their economic dreams. Generally, Zahari et al (69) have pointed out that careers in the hospitality industry can be grouped in to several categories namely: Operations, Customer Care, Cuisine services, Bookkeeping, Maintenance, Sales and Promotion, Security, and House-keeping. General Operations A General Manager is usually responsible for the coordination and management of human r esources, financial management, service provision, and projection of the company image through the front office, and quality control (Zahari et al 78-91). Depending on the nature and size of the organization, general managers often have subordinate managers working in various departments to complement their effort. Front Office careers Chuang has noted that front office is the nerve center of all operations in the service-based hospitality industry (14). Important operations such as receiving the visitors, making reservations for rooms and conference halls, managing correspondence and processing bills as well as maintaining records of the services rendered to guests are usually processed at the department (Chuang 16). In most cases, the front office manager is often in charge of the supervision and co-ordination of the processes. Subordinates to the front office manager may include an Assistant Manager, front office executive, lobby manager, information staff, receptionist, bell cap tain, and doorman among others. The responsibilities of these staffs may vary from one facility to another. House Keeping careers According to Zhong, Couch and Blum (10), house-keepers are usually charged with ensuring that the facility, the rooms, the hallways, bars, the restaurants, and the compounds among other places are kept tidy. House-keeping careers mainly involve ensuring the comfort of the

Homelessness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Homelessness - Essay Example I have found many people around me who forced to spend their final days of their lives in rescue homes even though they have enormous wealth. An old age couple who was staying near my home forced to transfer their lives to a near rescue home recently since they failed to get enough attention from their parents. These couple had huge wealth, but their children were working abroad. They failed to get enough protection from their children and finally forced to take shelter in a rescue home conducting by a charitable trust. In another case, I have seen a person forced to live in a rented house because of unemployment. The recent recession resulted in this person losing his job. He forced to sell his house in order to repay some of his debts and forced to shift to a small rented house with his wife and two children. Before recession itself, they were struggling to find their livelihood. When we analyze both the cases mentioned above, we can see that the homelessness problem is due to structural reasons rather than the individual reasons. Unemployment, poverty, lack of affordable housing, housing policies etc are some of the structural reasons commonly cited by many sociologists for homelessness (What causes homelessness?). But in the first case given above, we can see that the family set up forced the couple to take shelter in rescue homes. Kendall (2008) mentioned that people like to form groups to meet instrumental and expressive needs. Instrumental or task oriented needs cannot be met by one persona alone, so the group work cooperatively to fulfill the goal. Moreover small groups are better for all the members to acquaint well and to interact simultaneously (Kendall, p.151-152). The first case given above can be analyzed with respect to the above perspective. As per the current trends, people like to live in nuclear families, a family with husband, wife and one or two children. It is difficult for them to accommodate more

Social iSolation Prompted by Technology & Social Media Research Paper

Social iSolation Prompted by Technology & Social Media - Research Paper Example Today people hardly find time to speak to their neighbors, colleagues, and friends. Instead, they make relations with unknown people around the world through social media. Evidently this situation leads to social isolation, a potential issue affecting the social development process. According to Cacioppo and Hawkley, â€Å"social isolation is defined as the absence of contact with other people and lack of integration to society and includes the perceived feeling of being isolated from others† (as cited in Uribe, 2007, p. 3). Studies indicate that social isolation can cause depression and other long term psychological impacts on the victims. This paper will explore to what extent the obsessive use of technology and social media promote social isolation. It is assumed that the current trend in the use of social media and technology would drastically affect the social lives of individuals, and hence this issue should not be taken lightly. The primary audience of this paper will be anyone who uses social media and similar technologies to connect with family and friends. The secondary audience includes my professor and fellow classmates. Evidently social media and technology are increasingly used by children and young adults as compared to others, and hence they are highly exposed to its negative impacts. As reported by Lenhart, Purcell, Smith and Zickuhr (2010), nearly 72% online young adults extensively used social networking websites on a daily basis as of 2013. The major social media websites used by youngsters include Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube. Today teens and young adults consider social media as a vital part of their life, but they do not recognize the detrimental effects of such social websites on their social skills and personal interactivity. Generally formation of basic social skills including

Causes and Impact of the Recession on Banking Sector

Causes and Impact of the Recession on Banking Sector Introduction Growth Management: Two Hats Are Better Than One By Andrew Lester page 169 Says there is a definition of an economic recession-two succsive quartets in a year when the economy shrinks rather than grows. In the presence of economic recession, the effected countries are extremely in the state of anxious..The developed countries are trying to do everything to avoid the impact of recession in their country, but, it is true, the developed countries are the first affected of the economic recession because of the economic slowdown. It can be understand with the simple explanation through the different principles of economic, when any country played a big role in international trade market in different sectors; it is true that the economic effect will be more swear on their land. Recession affects the GDP or gross domestic product of the country and the downturn in different economic activities are facing the declination (smith, 2009). Rationale Recession is the phenomena which is not new, but it occurs from time to time. In this dissertation we will focus on the economy of UK under the shade of recession. The economic changes which are being brought by the recession. Banks are the finance provider to the other sectors which in turn provide growth to the economy. This late 2000s recession aggravated the situation. Mortgage rate was high they cut back loans and redundant people. The problem was clear in the late 2000s recession when the international investors and domestic holders withdrawing their deposits and the banks were reducing the availability of loans. It was really hard for the clients to find a reasonable mortgage rate or mortgage offers. In the previous year, the external economic environment has greatly affected UK banking and finance. Globalization linked economies so that economic shifts and changes in one economy affects the other as in the case of the mortgage market in the United States and the banking sector in the United Kingdom. Technological innovation also supported the linkage of economic sectors so that a downturn in one economy is likely to affect other economies. This finds expression in the mortgage market of the United States and its effect on the banking sector in the United Kingdom. The trend in the United States is the engagement in the sub-prime mortgage market to meet growing demand for housing. As such, many banking and finance institutions engaged in sub-prime mortgage, which in effect is approving loans for people who do not necessarily meet the credit rating criteria previously established. As a result, many people purchased homes on mortgage financing. As these loans matured, many were unable to pay the mortgage loans. This resulted to the sub-prime mortgage market crash in 2007. In the meantime, the United Kingdom also experienced housing demand. This encouraged new firms to engage in the sub-prime market or existing banks to establish sub-prime mortgage services such as Northern Rock. The sub-prime mortgage market crash in the United States affected the banking sector in the United Kingdom, particularly the banks that engaged intensively or almost exclusively on the sub-prime market. The crash in the United States signalled the problem that is also starting to heighten in the United Kingdom because of a number of reasons. One, large banks present in the United States and involved in the mortgage market were in the process of consolidating their losses so that these banks refused or had not ability to extend short term loans to other banks, which heavily relied on short-term loans from various banks for its sub-prime mortgage system to work. Another, banks in the United Kingdom also refused to extend further loans to the mortgage market or to financial institutions relying on short-term loans. This led to a credit crunch that eventually led to huge losses and bankruptcy. In this crucial time some banking institutes had effectively exercise of sufficient internal control practices to support its sustainability target by balancing risks with expected returns as well as some important decision taken and implemented by board of directors like to not heavily involve in mortgage market helps them to survive and book enough profit in this time. In this dissertation we will focus on the impact of recession on some financial firms who couldnt survive and book major losses up to close down with the example of Northern Rock, who announced bankruptcy. The Focus will be on the Barclays that how it has bear the pressure of recession and it flourishes. We will find out the policy and the methodology to reflect the waves of recession. Dissertation will also focus on strategies to be implemented and suggest some changes to be made in operation of banking business to not repeat these again. Some other financial firms who survive and balance its profitability by quick important decision and implement of some strategies with the example of Barclays, top banking firm of United Kingdom Literature review This dissertation will also discuses the financial crisis in UK and what is the economic condition at present. Christopher Dow said that   Recession are best defined as shortfalls below the capacity growth rate,thus accompained by growing unemployment. the initial defination of a large recession(that output should fall absoltly) is thus equivalent to a requirment that the rate of out put growth should fall below the norm(or capacity rate) by more than the norm itself. Five periods were identified on theses criteria as major recession;1920-1,1929-32,1973-5,1979-82and 1989-93. On January 24, 2009, Edmund Conway, Economics Editor for The Daily Telegraph, wrote that The plight facing Britain is uncannily similar to the 1930s, since prices of many assets from shares to house prices are falling at record rates [in Britain], but the value of the debt against which they are held remains unchanged. Recession in this age of globalization is not to be kept at a single place it tranfer its effect from one sector to the other and from one country to other . It will also highlight what are the main causes of Northern rock banks down fall due to various factors which are thoroughly discussed in literature review with the help of print media, companys case studies/websits,books,gernerals and websites also what are the affects on consumer.It is also conclude ground realities of global recession as well as enhanced information of worth while recourse in order to understand the matter of crux of world economic globalization. The subprime mortgage crisis has already suggested living standard of people around the world in line with fare of US and global economy and now it threatens to derail the U.S. economy. Origin of economic crisis and how to tackle them, advice to take valuable measures to get over the economic crisis has been revealed by best selling economist Robert Shiller in his book. An aggressive response need to be taken by people in order to restructure the intuitional basis. He also shows in his book that how these economic bubbles can be further dangerous in near future . Northern Rock banks and several of its customers withdrawal their money and savings due to there was news in the market about bankruptcy of bank which are received from Bank of England. This was certain one the reason that the prior consumers of Northern Rock have placed their savings in other banks considered to save better constancy even if the interest rate slightly lower then others. However, these consumers and their experience with Northern Rock mostly affected their future financial planning and decision-making. Barclays bank was formed in 2006 with the forshighted motive to become powerful development platform for Barclays and targeted the rapidly challenging market. The idea was to provide the better services for retail and commercial customers in markets around the globe. In 2008 annual report the group chief executive John Verley reported that that We have managed Barclays carefully through this period. We have remained solidly profitable The main reasons for Barclays survival in credit crunch is followed by its constant approach to make important progress towards success of goal by attracting 9 Million new customers while offering them cost saving packages. Richard Posner in his book describe the way of getting ride vicious credit crunch and the reasons of economic crisis by his in-depth research.   By Marc LaBonte, Thecapitol Net, Patrick Purcell: describes the Recession, Depression, Insolvency, Bankruptcy, and Federal Bailouts and to determin how resession begin or end. By Mark Zandi:give the broad accessible analysis for the economic crisis from 2007-2009.the answer is also give thoroughly in his book related recession and new version is update with latest events regarding fall of 2008 financial collapse. Gjerstad, S.,et al(2009) said in the article ‘In just the past 40 years there were two other housing bubbles, with peaks in 1979 and 1989, but the largest one in U.S. history started in 1997, probably sparked by rising household income that began in 1992 combined with the elimination in 1997 of taxes on residential capital gains up to $500,000. Rising values in an asset market draw investor attention; the early stages of the housing bubble had this usual, self-reinforcing feature. It is noticeable that lower mortgage rates are attracting, but somehow the financial institutions have a big shortfall. They have to suffer for it. In general sense the housing market is the direct centre of the crisis. The Financial disaster had started in USA and spread out to Uk and the rest of Europe. Three years ago when northern rock a mortgage bank was teetering on the brink, the financial authorities considered keeping it float with secret emergency lending but it was bank run(Anon 2009) . The main objection at that time came from the financial services authorities that a listed company should have to disclose the emergency lending to avoid misleading the business market. BBC (Aug2009) reported thatNorthern Rock relied heavily on the markets, rather than savers deposits, to fund its mortgage lending. The onset of the credit crunch has dried up its funding. Schifferes,S. (2007) in his article reported that â€Å"A wave of foreclosures and evictions is about to sweep the United States in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage lending crisis. Another bank to discuss is northern Rock which collapse as a result of recession. Hyun Song Shin in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, said ‘The U.K. bank Northern Rock became the first high-profile casualty of the global financial crisis of 2007‚Äà ¬2008 when it suffered its depositor run in September 2007. In spite of the television images of long lines of depositors outside its branch offices, the run on Northern Rock was unlike the textbook retail depositor run caused by coordination failure. Also, contrary to received wisdom, its reliance on securitization was not an immediate factor in its failure. Rather, its problems stemmed from its high leverage coupled with reliance on institutional investors for short-term funding. When the de-leveraging in the credit markets began in August 2007, Northern Rock was uniquely vulnerable to the shrinking of lender balance sheets arising from the tick-up in measured risks. Aims and objectives. The dissertation aim will be recognise secondary data of global recession effects in the UK economy as well as in primary research study determining first hand information on the recent situation of global recession affecting Uk economy, in terms of banking sector and mortgage sector .The first objective of the research is to find out the most suitable strategy that can be use by the institutions which in return can increase their market performance..For the objective, the need to use collective research and information placing weight to global economic recession facts and figures in the year 2008 and present, and its impact within UK economy. . Research Questions The dissertation will aim to find answers the following research questions through the analytical techniques and the data collections. What causes an economic recession? What are the effects of an economic recession on the financial sector? Northern rock was collapsed during the recession period what was the reason behind? Barclays Plc is not affected by the recession. What are the strategies they adopted? What is the short term and long term strategies adopt by a business in the recent recession? Research Methodology The main objective of this analysis would be to examine the main causes of recession and the impact of recession on the financial sector with detail research on Barclays Plc and Northern rock Bank. This dissertation will discuss the strategies they applied to survive in recession and what are the problems they had faced. The dissertation will also discuss the economic condition of UK banks and housing market. It will also analyse that what are the strategies, which have been adopted by the financial sector. For the research methodology, it is important to bring in related knowledge towards the UK recession and its impact towards the financial sector. Negatively or positively from within the case study interviews to be given by some UK small medium enterpriser and multinational corporations, interviews will not be of less than hundred, these are the ones who are effected by recession regarding their loss of jobs and the status from their employment from the UK business sectors. Types of Data The main type of Data will be collected for this purpose of this report is as follows. Primary Data Primary data is the information, which is collected by the researcher from his own analysis. It could be in the form of analysis questionnaires, interviews, observations, case studies or critical incidents. The primary data, which is collected from the different sources, could be either qualitative which looks at the explanation behind the given responses or quantitative which is in the form of numbers and which can represent in the form of a graph or a table. Secondary Data Secondary data is the information that is already available. This could be including books, reviews, press releases, newspaper, news bulletin, or reports etc. Again secondary data collected could be either quantitative or qualitative. It depends on the source and type of the information collected. Primary Data Questionnaires A research question is a kind of survey where the information is collected with the intension of arriving at the different conclusions on an issue. This kind of survey will help the researcher to get impartial result and if required the researcher can predict an issue or advice changes. Questions will be divided to the employees, managers of big financial companies of selected banks, mortgage companies and the housing sector. The question will be targeting a most specific issue of the discussion and each response would be analysing against each other. Survey may be deals with a variety of media (paper-electronic-verbal). Different kind of method can be used internet, face to face, telephone and mails.. The population will be divided in managers employees and customers. Interviews Interviews will be held on the spot with the people of different sectors. It could be on phone or face to face either when the respondent meets the interviewee over the phone or directly and answer some circumstantial questions relating to circumstantial issue. This kind of interviews is more advantageous since not only respondent can convey himself or herself and interview can ask to elucidate the answer. Secondary Data Sampling method Stratified sampling Stratified sampling is a method where the population is based on groups. For the dissertation purpose, we will divide the populations. Managers of the companies This will include managers who are in direct contact with financial departments, including policy and decisions makers. Employers This group directs to those who help to apply the strategies or changes. Their opinion is indispensible as they are indirectly related with the running of business Customers This group directs to those who are directly and indirectly affects with new changes and strategies. The big advantage of stratified sampling is that question will be related to the details. The interviewer wants to be answered and there will be less chance that the respondent will simply guess an answer because they have already been chosen whether they are in a position to answer the question. There is another advantage of this type of sampling method is that it increases the chance of having a more relevant answers as compared to simple random sampling. It is possible that the disadvantage is that it makes the analysis a bit complex. Simple random sampling This is a method where a small group of samples are selected from a large group of people. the advantage of this method is simplest and straightforward and disadvantage is time scale may be too long. Data analysis There are two major approaches to analysis the data and collect an information qualitative and quantitative research method. Sometime required information is already available and required only be pull out. However, in the analysis sometime information must be collected. This kind of research will call back the second approach. The research needs to be collected and it is not already available. The research mainly relies on the primary data. The nature of the problem which researcher will explore in this report is suitable for both research methods. The secondary data in this research will be gathered from reports, books journals, internet journals-internet websites, companys website, articles and every other written source of data. As primary data will be collected through the interviews and questions, then all of the collected data will be analysis to accomplish the objectives and aims of the dissertation. Qualitative Research Technique Qualitative research means to know why, not the, how, which is collected by many methods like interviews, feedback, forms-emails. Qualitative research is used to understand how people feel and they think-depth interviews or group discussions are two common methods to use for collect qualitative information. Quantitative Research Technique Quantitative research technique where a research method depends less on interviews, questions, observations but it is more focused on the numerical data and statistic collection and analysis. Information collected from the financial sectors, banks, mortgage companies will be combined together and put into tables and graphical charts to view the opinion on different topics and to review overall responses. Limitations of the Study Validity and reliability Validity directs to the truthfulness and accuracy of the research. Research data may be mislead if a question will be misinterpreted or misunderstand. Reliability is a various statistical tests. There is another way to test the reliability is to ask a same question with different wording in the research survey. It will help to collect a right data. Data may be misleading if the interviewee gives a judgment instead of straight facts. Therefore respondent will be bound in many ways from freely expression views with the help of close ended questions. Interviewing It may be challenging to finding the right person at the right time because of the current economic situation. A financial sector would face the different challenges and then an interview for an academic research could end up with a long way wait. Confidentiality As the business market is very competitive and the fact is that bit information about the company can give a rise to the competitors, a company might not want to share data. Although a confidentiality, agreement will be signed and disclaimer will be issued. Response times The response time to the questionnaire and interview setting mostly rely on how busy the management and staff are at the research time. This might make collection process lengthier Recent external factors Economical changes have a direct impact on the financial sectors and therefore theses changes have impact on their staffs as well. It is possible that feed back could be more a response to the recent external changes and not because of the business to ensure employees are happy and content. Time Scale Planning Activities May 05-30 May-June 30-22 June-July 25-02 July 04-14 July 16-26 July-Aug 27-07 Aug-Sep 08-25 Sep 26-30 Project proposal ___ Literature Review ____ Research Methodology ____ Empirical study ____ Empirical result ____ Recommendation ____ Conclusion ____ Thesis submission ____

Dr Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories Es

Everyone is Important in Dr Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories In many of Dr Seuss’ children’s books, a character is struggling to get his voice heard. For example, in Horton Hears A Who and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories, there are characters that couldn’t get anyone to listen to what they have to say. These characters teach us that no matter how big or small, everyone is important. Horton had thought he heard a sound but didn’t see anyone. Nearby was a very tiny speck of dust flying aimlessly throughout the air. Horton realized that someone must be living on that speck of dust! He immediately takes action and makes up his mind that he is going to save this person because, â€Å"a person’s a person, no matter how small.† (6) No one else would believe him though. Horton knew what he had heard but didn’t know how to get the others to believe what he had to say. One of the most important lessons throughout the entire book is that Horton didn’t give up on the Who’s even though everyone thought he was crazy. The little town of Who’s were counting o...

Ford Motor Company Essay

Strengths Ford Motor Company is a Multi international Company with 90 plant and facilities selling vehicles in 200 markets. It is the second biggest plant in the world, with approximately 345,000 employees The Ford Motor Company is the Fifth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and the second in the U.S. with a total (Sales 2010) of 4,988,031 vehicles manufactured including Cars, land craft vehicles (LCV), Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV) and Heavy Buses. Ford Motor merges with Hertz Rent-A-Car, the world’s leading vehicle renting organization, operates from approximately 8,100 locations in 143 countries worldwide. Ford Motor Company is in ten place in 2011 Fortune 500 list (Us), with Revenues of (Millions) 128,954.0 and Profits of (Millions) 6,561.0 and in the 2011 Global 500 list, Ford Motors in twenty fifth place. †¢ Ford is a Household name brand †¢ Has physical presence in all major continents †¢ Ford motor credit company helps finance, lease and sell insurance customers †¢14,400 international patents, copyrights and trademarks †¢2nd highest market share in truck sales †¢Sponsor special-rate financing programs available only through Ford Credit Programs increase Ford Credit’s financing volume and share of financing sales of their vehicles Weaknesses Ford Motors doesn’t have a fuel efficient stander pickup or cargo van, compared to Chevrolet Silverado (Pickup) that gives 20mpg in city and 23mpg in highway and the Chevrolet Express (Van) that gives a 15mpg in city and 20mpg in highway. †¢ Durable good- in rough economical times it is not necessary to replace †¢ If consumers continue to demand vehicles that are relatively large, have high performance, and/or are feature-laden, while regulatory standards require the production of vehicles that are smaller and more economical, the mismatch of supply and demand would have a negative  effect on profitability †¢ Market share has declined in many regions of the world over the last year. Overall market share in the United States, including PAG-brand vehicles, has declined in each of the past five years, from 20.5% in 2003 to 15.6% in 2007 †¢Stock shares have declined, resulting with volume reductions have had an adverse impact on our results of operations Ford Motor warned its European operations may lose $500 million to $600 million this year. Opportunities Innovation technologies, Sync with My ford touch is a combine technology, that help and assists drivers for a more comfortable drive experience. The Sync technology consist in integrating Bluetooth- enable cell phones and Mp3 players in to the car, providing hand free call and music selection capabilities using voice activate commands. My ford touch replaces many traditional buttons with clear, colorful and user friendly LCD screens. †¢ Block Exemption Regulation (Europe) – Makes it easier for a dealer to display and sell multiple brands in one store (Ford, Lincoln, Mercury) without the need to maintain separate facilities †¢Increasing presence in China, with more investment in manufacturing capacity, introduction of new products and expansion of distribution channel †¢Opened a second assembly plant and new engine plant located in Nanjing, China Initial capacity of the plant was approximately 160,000 units annually, boosting total annual passenger car production capacity in China to more than 410,000 vehicles Operates a purchasing office in China to procure components for operations outside of China Threats †¢ Decline in overall market share due to Including increased competition Industry shift away from traditionally stronger segments (e.g., traditional SUVs and full-size pickups) Reduced vehicle sales to daily rental companies †¢Decrease in commercial fleet sales reflected lower industry volume †¢Japanese and Korean manufacturers are increasing their production capacity in Europe Strength †¢ Ford Motor Company is a Multi international Company with 90 plant and facilities selling vehicles in 200 markets. It is the second biggest plant in the world, with approximately 345,000 employees. (http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/ford-diversity-commitment) , (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=7670) †¢ The Ford Motor Company is the Fifth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and the second in the U.S. with a total (Sales 2010) of 4,988,031 vehicles manufactured including Cars, land craft vehicles (LCV), Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV) and Heavy Buses. (Oica.net, 2011) (http://oica.net/wp-content/uploads/ranking-2010.pdf) †¢ Ford Motor diversity in Ford Credit is a subsidiary of The Ford Motor Company that finance vehicles to customer and dealers to support Ford Motor Company sales. They also provide financing on Lincoln vehicles, offering: competitive rates, innovative products, flexible terms (http://www.fordcredit.com/companyInfo/prof ile.jhtml) †¢ Ford Motor merges with Hertz Rent-A-Car, the world’s leading vehicle renting organization, operates from approximately 8,100 locations in 143 countries worldwide. †¢ Ford Motor Company is in ten place in 2011 Fortune 500 list (Us), with Revenues of (Millions) 128,954.0 and Profits of (Millions) 6,561.0 (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/full_list/index.html) and in the 2011 Global 500 list, Ford Motors in twenty fifth place. (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2011/full_list/index.html) Weakness †¢ Ford Explores rollover and firestone tires recalls controversy announced on August, 2000, approximately 14.4 million tires contain a safety-related defect. Harmed Ford brand image. (http://www.nhtsa.gov/PR/FirestoneRecall) †¢ Ford Motors doesn’t have a fuel efficient stander pickup or cargo van, compared to Chevrolet Silverado (Pickup) that gives 20mpg in city and 23mpg in highway and the Chevrolet Express (Van) that gives a 15mpg in city and 20mpg in highway. (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bestworstepatrucks.htm) †¢ Ford Motors only has seven subsidiaries, Lincoln, mercury, Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin. Opportunities †¢ Fuel efficient cars, Ford Motor Company is launching the most fuel-efficient cars in the market. The All-new 2012 Ford Focus will be powered by a fuel-efficient 2.0-liter DOHC four-cylinder engine with twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) and direct gasoline injection that will deliver up to a projected 40 mpg highway. The combinations of these technologies helps to lower gas emission but, still have horse power. For a 4 cylinder 2.0 liter engines it is rated at 160 horse power and 146lbs of torque. (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=33438) †¢ Big donator to charity and victims of natural disasters. October 27, 2000 – Ford Motor Company will donate $1.4 million to the San Diego Environmental Foundation (SDEF) for the preservation, protection and enhancement of the San Eliot Lagoon Ecological Reserve, which is one of San Diego’s and Southern California’s most precious and unique natural resources. (http://media.ford.co m/article_display.cfm?article_id=6425) †¢ Innovation technologies, Sync with My ford touch is a combine technology, that help and assists drivers for a more comfortable drive experience. The Sync technology consist in integrating Bluetooth- enable cell phones and Mp3 players in to the car, providing hand free call and music selection capabilities using voice activate commands. My ford touch replaces many traditional buttons with clear, colorful and user friendly LCD screens. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Driving Technology, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) gives out three warnings when a vehicle not visible or enters ones blinds spot. The signals consists in a Yellow light appears in the corresponding side view mirror, an audio alert and a message warning displayed.  (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Rear view camera and Forward Sensing System, helps drives to see on screen when parking in reverse. The Forward Sensing System helps to determine how close are the objects form the vehicle. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Electric Power-Assisted Steering (EPAS). This technology consists in adapting to the road conditions and help drivers to compensate directional shifts caused by crowned roads surface or steady crosswinds. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Active Park Assistants uses ultrasonic based sensing system and EPAS for parallel parking. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Rain-Sensing Wipes has a optical sensor that auto adjust to the climate conditions. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) Power train and convenience †¢ Adaptive cruise control allows the vehicle to set and mating speed without using the pedals. It also has a radar- based system that’s can monitor the vehicle in front up to 600 feet. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Easy fuel or cap less system helps drives when filling the car with gasoline a hassle-free, odor free, and have a more consistent seal compared to traditional manual cap.( http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Eco-Boost gains of up to 20 percent and reduction of CO2 emissions by as much as 15 percent compared with larger, less efficient engines. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) †¢ Dual-clutch Power Shift six-speed transmission combines the responsive performance and fuel economy of a manual gearbox with the convenience of a traditional automatic transmission. (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Drive_Smart_HR.pdf) Threats †¢ Government regulations. Do to the pollution and the Global warming caused by the Co2, car manufactures are trying to develop fuel efficient cars. In Jul 29,2011 Major car developers and manufactures joined President  Obama to discusses the further in fuel economy and proposed a new Fuel-efficiency standers. Today’s stander is 27.3mpg by 2025 the stander should be at 54.5 mpg. Its estimated that this new â€Å"stander† will save a average of $8,000 on fuel bill per vehicle, and will reduce U.S. oil consumption by 2.2 billion barrels per day. (http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/07/government-raises-fuel-economy-standards-to-545-mpg-by-2025.html) †¢ Change of oil price, is one of the most volatile components oil, is very heretical as it prices increases and decreases. Consumer are more aware that fuel efficient vehicle can guarantee more performance for their money. In 26-07-2011 oil crude open at $99.0 an close$99.6 (http://www.livecharts.co.uk/futures_commodities/oil_prices_historical.php) †¢ Increase of raw materials. This effects the manufacturing of the automobile if the steel components raises then the car will have to be a lot more expensive. According to the World Carbon Steel Transaction Prices in Mar,2011 medium steel sections were $719/Ton in April,2011 it was 926/Ton. (http://www.steelonthenet.com/price_info.html) †¢ Recession is another factor that Ford Motor Company has to battle. As the economy declines in activity, more people are not investing or spending their incomes in new vehicles. It is estimate that the US unemployment rates is at 13.9 million persons a (9.1 percent) http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm)